Zions Bancorporation N.A. Sells 36 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. trimmed its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 15.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 36 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $92,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $473.36 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $352.17 and a 1 year high of $495.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $474.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $446.79. The firm has a market cap of $85.77 billion, a PE ratio of 43.23, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.43 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James cut Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Investors Services. The Moody’s Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.